Julianne Mahler

Julie’s artwork is composed of folded paper and deconstructed books, marking a distinct and inventive chapter in her life as an artist. Before pursuing art, she spent 32 years working as a geologist in the oil and gas industry. Extensive travel has given her a wide range of global influences, yet her family and community remain central to her creative expression. She is a mother, grandmother, wife, daughter, and sister—roles that deeply inform her work.

On New Year’s Day of 2019, she set a personal goal to fold 1,000 origami cranes within the year as a form of meditation. In many cultures, cranes symbolize wisdom, longevity, peace, and prosperity. Tradition holds that folding 1,000 cranes brings blessings or grants a wish to the one who completes them. The repetitive, rhythmic act of folding became a soothing ritual, and the paper itself holds layered meaning—chosen for its texture, color, history, and often recycled origins.

Her creativity is frequently inspired by aboriginal and ethnic art traditions, rich with rhythmic abstraction and symbolic storytelling rooted in oral histories. She draws influence from Australian Aboriginal art, South African Bushmen designs, West African carved masks, Canadian Inuit and Coast Salish art, Islamic calligraphy, Persian carpets, and Judaica—each offering a unique visual language that resonates within her own artistic voice.